Saturday, September 26, 2009

Just had a very freeing conversation with my occupational therapist sister-in-law. I already knew that I was worrying too much about James' neck, but she reassured me that he's still very little and usually (up to 80% of the time) baby's prefer one side to the other as their necks are developing.

Thanks, Sarah. And James thanks you too. I'm no fun to be around when I'm worried. :)

I'm trying (and promptly failing) to read through the Psalms with James. I started about a month ago and we just read Psalm 3 today. He's going to be 30 by the time we finish.

Anyway, I want him to feel the rhythm of each musical piece, and of course hear the soul affective Word of God.

It's incredible the verses that stand out to me now that James has come and rearranged our lives. For example:

I've been mildly concerned about James maybe having torticollis. (Jim would probably argue with 'mildly') I just noticed that when he's on his tummy, he only looks up to the left - never up to the right. When sitting, he also cocks his head to the right and does NOT like it when I try to cock it the other way. We're going to doctor on Wednesday, and even if it is torticollis, there are lots of exercises that will fix the tight muscle. I HAVE to turn off the ever-active-Mama-worry part of my brain.

All that to say, verse 3 yelled at me this morning:

"But YOU, O Lord, are a shield about me (and James), my glory, and the LIFTER OF MY HEAD." He's got this one, Sara. He knows about James' little neck...

Also, on the other side of this recent growth spurt, Jim and I have been pining for some consistent sleep. Finally, last night James slept from 10 pm until 5 am. And then again until 8 am. I swear I heard angels singing.

Again, verse 5 was relevant:

"I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me."

These probably sound silly, and I know I'm taking them way out of the context in which they were written, but today, in the middle of my new little world, they were a balm to my soul. It's just reviving to know that God is there and knows all things.

Monday, September 21, 2009

So as soon as my sleep schedule *graciously* caught up with his (6 and 7 hour stretches), we arrive at a growth spurt. And suddenly, every 2.5 or 3 hours it's GRUB TIME - day or night. But it's okay! Hey, I actually found myself almost reminiscing about the good ol' nights when that was the norm. I think this is also making him a little more grumpy during the day. No screamin' or hollerin' - just little complaints that seem to echo my thoughts exactly: "Heeeey, wait a minute! Where did all those delicious hours of sleep go?? Meh!"

The rumor is that growth spurts usually only last a few days, so we're gonna muscle through.

In other news, he's liking tummy time a little more each time. It so illegally cute to me when his elbows are tucked up under him and his little skinny neck streeeetches up, lifting up his chest, more and more. I just love it.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Jim and I love rainy days. We both got so excited when we saw this week's forecast and every single little box had a happy little rain cloud. Then we had a complex conversation about the difference between "scattered showers" and "patchy rain". It was intense.

Anyway, today all the lights in the house are off and James and I are being quiet and sleepy in the gray, moist light filtering through the mini blinds. I'm reveling in his soft "ooo's" and "aaaah's". He's added squeals lately, which I love, but I think today he's completely feelin' the rainy day snuggles.

A few minutes ago I put him down for a nap and blog surfed for a bit. Molly Piper (daughter-in-law to John Piper) suffered the stillbirth of their daughter about a year ago. Her blog is dedicated to the comfort and encouragement of grieving parents, along with a little day to day stuff. As I read through some of her archives, closer to the day of their daughter Felicity's death, my eyes and heart kept finding James asleep on the couch. Of course pretty soon my eyes were brimming and I was biting my cheeks so my crying wouldn't wake him up. I'm so thankful for this little soft person that I get to take care of. This little boy who is beginning to recognize Jim and me and seems to like us. Then I read a reader's comment who was lamenting the grab-bag "Bible bullets" that people somehow think are comforting:

I remember people saying to me “God has been so good to us b/c we didn’t have any infertility issues!”. I walked away going “WHAT??!!!!” If that is what makes God good, then we have some reevaluating to do! BUT, obviously, the point missing is that it’s NOT our circumstances that make God good – it’s HIS righteousness, holiness, unfailing love, compassion, etc – it’s HIM that makes HIM good! : ) I had to come to terms with that through some serious wrestling around and many tears!!! .... - Shawnda

I have been guilty of saying something like that very thing (not to a grieving mother, but just in my own heart or to Jim) - "I don't know why God allowed it to be so easy for us to get pregnant... it didn't have to be this way." Don't get me wrong, I am very thankful for that. But I have also subconsciously listed that under "God-being-good-to-us". What's hard for me to grasp is that He'd still be good if all of our babies were stillborn.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Well, maybe not ALL of them, but go read this article. My boss sent it to us, highlighting the importance of the development of the brain's executive functioning (self regulating one's behavior).

If you don't have time to read the whole thing, it's basically outlining how all the stimulating, educating, developmentally appropriate, (I'll add expensive and sometimes annoying) toys that we give our children can sometimes hinder this self regulation. When children play with no toys at all and are left to imagine, they use private speech to narrate their actions. This is the part that aids in the development of executive function.

The most poignant part of the article was about an experiment done with 3, 5, and 7 year-olds sixty years ago. When asked to stand still for a certain amount of time, the 3 year-olds were not able to at all, the 5 year-olds could do it for about 3 minutes, and the 7 year-olds could for just about as long as they were asked. Sadly, 60 years later, the results were grim:

"Today's 5-year-olds were acting at the level of 3-year-olds 60 years ago, and today's 7-year-olds were barely approaching the level of a 5-year-old 60 years ago," Bodrova explains.

Toys have their place, but they should not always be the main object of play - a child's imagination is a bottomless toy box.

*** Update: I still think baby toys, such as jumper-oos, are INDISPENSABLE ... but you catch my drift :) ***

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

A Facebook poll about public breast feeding caught my attention this morning. (Yep. You, Katie :) This led me to a Google search to find out the laws that allow James to partake in meals on the run. The results made my day!

First of all, SC Law provides that a woman may breast feed her child in any location where the mother is authorized to be and that the act of breast feeding is not considered indecent exposure.

12 states exempt breast feeding mothers from jury duty.

Puerto Rico requires airports, shopping malls, and other public places to provide clean, private areas that ARE NOT bathrooms for breast feeding mothers.

Ultimately, I feel like it's MORE than polite to use a cover up and that mothers should use their good judgment and discretion as to the tone and context of their surroundings. Let's try not be militant, bra-burning booby flashers out there.

P.S. A friend of mine wrote a blog post about an nasty run-in with a rude, anti-public-feeding lady... I hope this helps, H.J.

I am a homemaker, married to a handsome-brave-and-strong-pastor man who works extremely hard every single day. This blog is dedicated to illuminating the funnies, the sadnesses, and the adventures of our life in light of God's overwhelming grace. I'm in love with my Savior, the Redeemer of my soul and want so desperately to be more like Him. I am abnormally happy in my little life and love to do silly, useless things like write on blogs.